The Birth of the Winter Witch
by The.Pie.Is.A.Lie.Writing
Summary: Evie goes on a trip with her master, the Archmage, to an isolated little village that is terrorized by a magical being. However, Evie decides to go out on her own to capture the Frost Elemental for herself. It was the only thing that could save her from this enslaved life. (Fanmade background story for Evie the Winter Witch)


**Evie's original (canon) background lore:**

 **After cleverly tricking and imprisoning a great frost elemental in a magical gemstone, Evie went from apprentice sorceress to winter witch overnight. Though no longer welcome in her home village, which she left to an uncertain fate, she found her talents to be in high demand in the war against the Magistrate.**

 **Her true motivations are as mysterious as the exact details of her background, though, causing her allies to question her loyalty as well as how long she can really hope to keep the vengeful elemental contained.**

* * *

The wind howled over the icy plains, carrying the snow through the vast air like little cold knives that cut through anything that was exposed to the strong weather. Somewhere in the lonely storm a lost light wandered around. It was purely still burning because of the magic that protected it from being blown out. The torch with the magic fire was held up by an old mage, he was hunched over with his cape over his head to protect himself from the sharp cold. A young girl trailed behind him, her short legs having trouble plodding through the snow. She had to keep her head low to protect herself from the icy wind that blew in her face. It kind of helped that her master was walking in front of her and blocked most of the wind, but she still felt like she was freezing on the inside.

Her master had gotten a letter a few days ago from a group of explorers who had apparently found an unknown source of magic, hidden in the ice caps near Cold Mist Village. They had asked for the old mage's assistance because of his incapable amount of knowledge about all sorts of magic. But who would have expected the retired sorcerer, who spent his days in a large library filled with books of priceless amounts of knowledge, to agree and go on a long and tiring trip on his old age. And who would have expected for him to take Evie, the girl who worked as a maid in his library, with him on his trip. She had been excited as she had never gone much further than the library and the town it was housed. But now that they were stuck in a snowstorm, after walking for days with barely any rest, she was no longer in such high spirits.

Once she started to feel like her body was going to give up and she would just let herself drop face-first into the snow, dim lights that showed the signs of a small village became visible through the thick air of the storm. Even though she was exhausted she felt some energy coming back to her which made the walking a little bit more bearable.

Once they finally reached Cold Mist Village, they were welcomed by a group of explorers who let them inside one of the houses. The warm air greeted the two and Evie couldn't have been happier that they made it out of the cold. She kicked her boots against the doorpost to get the snow off of them and took off her soaked cloak. She put the heavy bag she was tasked to carry all the way on the table and blew some warm air between her frozen fingers. Even the tips of her blue hair were frozen and her nose was red from the cold.

Her master, on the other hand, got served like he was the most important guy in the room, which he probably was. A short, red-headed woman took his coat and he got the seat that was closest to the fire so he could warm up. Not late after, he got offered all kinds of treats he refused. When the same plate eventually reached Evie, who had been patiently waiting in the back, she was happy to stuff a few of them in her mouth. She had no idea what it was, but it tasted like old goat cheese. Disgusting. She looked around to make sure no one noticed her as she quickly spit the nasty stuff in a silver cup on the table.

''Evie?''

''Yes?!''

Her master beckoned for her to come bring his bag. She let out a relieved sigh and took the heavy bag and brought it to him. He took it with his shaking, wrinkled hands and took out a single book. It had a blue textile cover, the edges protected by thick, black leather. It was a one of its kind and written by the Archmage himself. The title on the front was made of a golden material which was carved into the cover. It read; Ice Wraith Xerses.

The man that had led them inside took a seat next to the old man. He seemed like he was from the village, with his wild blonde hair and beard. Like a Viking. ''Cold Mist Village is very honoured to have you in our presence, sir.''

It took Evie everything in her not to snort at that. The old windbag wrote some magic books, he wasn't a hero or anything. Yet the people here treated him like such.

The old mage let out a dry cough but didn't answer the Viking guy. ''And we are very glad that you travelled all the way here to help us. You see, me and the others travelled back to our home town to see our families before we would travel further across the Realm. But when we came here they were in trouble. In the Ice Mines an elemental has risen and terrorized the village. It caused this horrifying snowstorm. It has been storming for an entire week now. The people are stuck inside their houses and the men can no longer go out to hunt or work in the mines. If this keeps up the entire village might starve.''

The Archmage coughed again. ''Evie, pour me a glass.''

The Viking guy sat back with an annoyed expression, but didn't comment on it. Evie simply nodded and did as she was asked. She took one of the bottles on the table and filled a silver cup with the beverage. Her master didn't drink water, he lived on alcohol and wine. Evie handed him the cup. ''Here you go, master.''

The mage took a sip. ''So, I assume it's an ice elemental, correct?'' His voice sounded hoarse but wise. The Viking nodded. ''Then it won't be much trouble. Elementals are nothing more than a spirit in control of a single element. They're easy to contain, if you know how.''

''Easy?! Have you seen what it created?'' The man pointed at the storm that was raging behind the windows.

The Archmage held up his hand, demanding for the man to calm. Evie was surprised, and kind of disappointed, that the man didn't turn to ashes right then and there. If she were to set up a tone like that to her master she would surely be punished.

The mage reached back into his bag and took out a crystal. It was a dull grey colour, which meant it didn't house any magic. It was a Dead Crystal, as Evie knew they were called. The mage held the crystal up. '' _This_ is what will make our task easily accomplishable. It is one of the strongest crystals from my collection, capable of containing even the worst of elementals.''

Everyone looked at it in awe, even Evie. She wasn't aware her master owned such a viable crystal. The mage put it back into a little leather bundle and put it on his belt.

''So? When are we going to catch it?'' Now that they had something to fight back with the Viking seemed excited like a young boy who was going on his first hunt.

''Me and my apprentice sorceress have walked for 3 days straight. I'm going to rest. We'll go out first thing in the morning.''

''Oh yes, of course sir. My wife will show you to your room.'' He then turned to Evie, making a weird face like he only just noticed she was there. ''Um, you can sleep in there.'' He pointed to a room in the back. She didn't thank him.

The room was small. But it was warm and there was a good bed. It was a lot better than what she had back home at the library where she slept next to the cleaning supplies in the broom closet. While she laid under the itchy animal fur that served as blankets, she could hear the wind howl like a wounded beast around the house. But that wasn't the reason she couldn't sleep. She was holding a book which she tried to read in the dim light of the candles. She secretly took it with her from her master's library. He might have called her his apprentice sorceress but he didn't teach her any magic. Everything she knew she taught herself from reading the books she took while cleaning. But that was nothing special. She had never really practised any magic and despite her reading she knew still very little about it.

Yet she was determined to learn. It was the only way out of this life. Even if she could only learn basic stuff, it would be enough. It wouldn't take long before her master would pass away and then she'd leave that old, muff library and live a life of her own.

Evie slouched her shoulders. The rising usage of magic in the Realm was huge due to the discovery of the magic housed in crystals. With only basic knowledge she wouldn't make it. She needed something that was stronger and could create a possibility for her to survive on her own.  
The wooden roof of the house creaked loudly and the wind slammed with full force against the building. Evie looked up from her book to the storm that raged behind the window. Whatever magic that elemental was created from must be incredibly powerful. And tomorrow they were going to capture it with that crystal her master brought with him. She doubted the act was out of kindness to help the people from the village and rather his own curiosity. It wasn't like he needed it's power though, he was the strongest Archmage known on this side of the Realm.

She could think of a much better use for it. You could get hundreds of crystals for it and as much gold it wouldn't fit in your pockets, if it was brought on the market. Evie bit her lower lip, thinking of how that amount of money could help her start up her own life. She would go as far away as she could, buy a small establishment and maybe even set up a small shop. With all the crystals she'd own it would be a simple yet welcoming start for a new way of life.

She got up from her bed and peeked through the gap between the door and its frame it didn't seem to perfectly fit. The house was empty, the fireplace lighting up the now abandoned main room. She carefully sneaked out and went into her master's bedroom. She could hear loud, uneven snoring coming from the room. She warily tiptoed towards his bed, cautious of not letting any of the floorboards creak. The Archmage was lying on his back, covered in blankets and snoring like a fat bear in a cave. He was even drooling in his beard. Disgusting old man.  
Evie reached for the blankets and carefully held them up. This wasn't the first time she tried to loot anything from her unconscious master. She had walked in and explored his room multiple times whenever he'd gone to sleep. Searching for either a book she had seen him read or that one time she took one of his magic wielding staffs to try it out for herself. Only to quietly return it after she had almost blown herself and the entire library to oblivion.

She reached for the pouch on his belt and unhooked it. The mage didn't notice a thing and continued to sleep in content. Just to make sure, she took the crystal out of the bag to inspect it. The candle light made its dull glowing edges sparkle in the dimly lit room. She quickly put it back and was about to leave when she noticed the book on the nightstand. The Ice Wraith Xerses, she had never read it before. She really didn't know how to go about this almost hilariously bound-to-fail act of hers, trying to get her freedom. And the only way she had ever really learned anything was by reading. So Evie decided to also take the book with her.

She retreated back to her room. The storm was still raging like it was trying to burry the entire village under layers of snow. She was going to have to act fast. If she wanted to fill this gem with the worthful magic, she had to find and capture the elemental before the others caught onto her shenanigans. Evie skimmed through the book's pages for a little before putting her cloak and snow boots back on. It was time to go to work.

She doubted it would go unnoticed if she went out the front door so she climbed out the window instead. When she opened it, the wind slammed it against the wall of the house, the glass ringing in its frame. Evie stood still, waiting to see if anyone had heard her. When nothing in the house made a sign of someone who had woken up from the noise, she climbed outside.

The wind immediately attacked her and almost made her wish she was back inside where it was comfy and warm. But she pushed through and went into the direction she had heard the villagers say the elemental was.

The storm seemed to get worse the closer she got, like it was trying to hold her back from finding its energy source and catch it. But it didn't take long before a huge mountain popped up through the snow, the top so high it reached higher than the clouds where she couldn't see. At the foot of the mountain was the entrance of the mine. The sheds and wooden workspaces around it were abandoned or the roofs had collapsed by the heavy layers of snow that had buried them. It looked like a mess, like it had been attacked. At least here she was sheltered from the wind. Evie took off her hood and started to snoop around. The entrance of the mine was a huge, hand created cave, the walls covered in clear ice. It looked like a gaping mouth of a monster, ready to swallow the mineworkers that went in and out every day. Well, until the rampage happened of course. Everything seemed to have been abandoned in a hurry, the only thing that was still working were a few torches that lightened up the tunnel that went inside the mountain.

Evie decided to follow the rail tracks on the ground so in case she got lost she could find her way back out. Taking one of the torches out of its holder she started to make her way down. It was a slippery and dangerous walk. She wondered how the mineworks did this every day. Evie held the pouch with the crystal against her chest, like it was a child that she wanted to keep close, the most valuable thing she had. The further she went down the icier the place got. Huge icicles hang from the ceiling and the floors were covered in a slim layer of snow. She must be getting closer and closer to the source of the magic that had caused all of this.

Her path was blocked by a few carts on the railroad. She was astounded to find them filled to the brim with crystals, harvested from the walls in the mineshaft. Screw magic, with this stuff she could buy a mansion! Evie was about to start stuffing her pockets when a loud shriek echoed through the mine. She ducked behind one of the carts. A wind had started to come up and blow through the tunnels, carrying little snowflakes. This must be it.  
Evie climbed over the carts and peeked around the corner. There was a larger room, it had two entrances on two different levels. Steps made out of ice let up to edge of the second level. There were carts and rusty pickaxes scattered round, all covered in a layer of ice and snow. In the middle of the room were small gusts of wind swirling around like a mini tornado. It carried snowflakes that glistered in the light of her torch. Evie wanted to get a closer look and moved towards behind one of the pillars that kept up the ceiling. She could see something. The snow particles that floated on the wind seemed to form some kind of figure. Like a person almost, if you had enough imagination to recognize it as such. It was the figure of a lady, or something that looked like that. Evie was awestruck by what she saw. Real raw magic, right in front of her. Within her grasp. And she wanted it.

She snapped out of her dreamily staring state and grabbed the crystal out of the bag. This was it. She was going to be rich. She was going to be powerful. More powerful than the man that owned her. She was going to be the strongest mage the Realm had ever seen.

Evie jumped out of her hiding spot, crystal in hand. ''Hey you, magic snow thing!'' The figure turned towards her. ''You've let out your wraith on a poor innocent town. And now I'm here to capture you, in this crystal.'' A smirk touched her lips. ''You're mine now. And you will obey me.''

She held the crystal up towards the magical being.

And waited. The waiting took a bit long. Wasn't there something supposed to happen? Like it sucking up the elemental? Or some magic light to emerge from it to absorb its power or even a small sign of the crystal doing _anything_? Evie gave an awkward smile. ''That's not supposed to happen… Is this thing broken?'' She shook the crystal to try and activate it and even held it up to her ear to hear if there was even anything in there.

There was a loud, high pitched scream that made her blood turn cold. The elemental rose up like an animal threatening its attacker. The wind knocked her off her feet and Evie landed on her back in the snow. The elemental charged forward with sharp small icicles that launched through the air towards her. Evie reached for the closest thing next to her, which was the torch which had almost gone out, and held it up to try and protect herself. As soon as the hot smoke came in touch with the swirling wind, the magic creature yelped and jumped back.

The girl got up and ran. She slipped and slid and nearly tripped off the ice steps. The creature came after her but she just managed to hide behind a few wooden boxes before dangerously pointed pieces of ice slammed into the wood and the ground next to her. The creature didn't seem to be very intellectual as it was unsure of where she had gone and was tossing and turning in the air in a rioted manner.

Evie tried to keep her breathing as quiet as possible as she tried to calm down her pounding heart. It was okay, it had no clue where she was. She had a bit of time to come up with a plan. The elemental let out another howl which made Evie hurriedly reach for the book. She nervously flipped through the pages with shaking hands, trying to find anything useful. There was a picture of a figure made out of snowflakes that danced in the wind. She stopped searching, this must be it.

 _Frost Elemental_

 ** _Mina_**

 _A creature made out of ice magic. It has only made a few very rare appearances and is commonly found resting in ice caps. It is harmless unless it's disturbed, to which it reacts by awakening from its slumber and attacking anything nearby.  
It can create anything made out of ice by freezing the water molecules in the air and controlling already frozen particles. It can create wind by cooling the temperature of the air and lowering the air pressure; giving it the ability to cause raging storms.  
Mina is bound to the power of the Ice Wraith Xerses, giving it entire control over the magical being. _

_Extremely dangerous, do not approach-_

 _It has weak sight_

 _High manoeuvre abilities-_

 _…_

Bla bla bla nothing of this helped her with anything! Evie skipped a few pages. She needed to know its weaknesses, how to contain it, anything!

 _Responds strong to heat and fire, which weakens its abilities and can even eliminate the being._

There, that was helpful. Evie looked at the torch. The fire had nearly extinguished, there was only a small bit of coal that was still glowing red. She felt something drip on her hand and quickly cleaned it off on her clothing. It caused a black smudge. There was a piece of ice that had struck the wooden barrel next to her, which had made a hole in it and there was oil dripping out. She suddenly got an idea. Evie peaked over the wooden boxes. The elemental was still swirling around the room, freezing and breaking stuff around it. It had poor eye sight ey? If she could move around quietly and set up a trap, she might actually be able to capture it.  
Evie put the book and the pouch with the crystal on her belt and got to her feet. She picked up the barrel, luckily it wasn't very heavy, and started to draw lines of oil in the snow. In the mean time she avoided the elemental's path of rage. At the end of the room she drew a large circle and let the last drops of oil leak out of the barrel. She let the crystal fall out of her pocket, in the snow, in the middle of the circle.

It was time for some magic.

''Hey ice face! I'm over here!'' She jumped and waved.

The creature screamed and leaped towards her. Evie dodged it, smirking. She was enjoying a bit of a battle. It was time that she got to fight for her freedom. She held up the torch and let the last burning pieces fall onto the oil. A large flame rose up, following and eating the oil path she had created. The elemental tried to flee, only to have its path cut off by a wall of fire. It screamed and turned to run the other way. But it was surrounded by a circle of flames. And it was closing in on the creature. It panicked and flew around in circles until the flames came so close it burned it. It wailed as it had no where else to go but into the crystal.

The fire slowly quenched and the only thing that remained was the crystal, shining bright and blue. Evie threw her hands up in the air. ''YES! Yes yes yes I'm the best mage to ever exist!'' She giggled and cheered in victory. ''The amazing, powerful Evie. The one to contain the fearful frost beast! The one and only. The true wielder of the Ice Wraith something something.''

She walked towards the crystal. It shined beautifully. ''You're finally mine.''

And picked it up.

The mountain exploded. The top burst open like a volcano. Snow and ice were launched into the air and rained down on the world below. The Archmage and the travellers that were making their way towards it looked up in shock. They rushed towards the mines. When they had made their way down they found Evie, curled up in the snow.

''By the gods…'' One of the men breathed.

Evie stirred, holding her hands close to her chest. She held the crystal tightly, its blue light shining through her fingers.

''What the hell have you done?'' The Archmage spat. He sighed, shaking his head in disappointed. ''You've always been like this. Ignorant. You sought freedom and all you found was a curse.''

She looked up at him. His ugly bald head and rich people clothes. He had enslaved her all her life, and now he dared to mock her, when she had risen above him. But she saw the look on the other men's faces. Disturbed, horrified. Her skin had turned a sickening shade of grey. The white of her eyes was now red and her body was covered in ice that grew into her skin. Every bone, every vessel of her being was attacked by frostbite, to the centre of her soul. The ice grew from the inside out, freezing her to death.

''What happened to her?''

''She made a mistake.'' There was the smallest hint of pity in the Archmage's voice. But it had quickly disappeared and he turned towards the men that were with him. ''Kill her now before it manages to free itself from the gemstone. It would only be cruel to let her suffer any longer.''

 _Monsters. All of you!_

One of the men was brave enough to take out a small hunting knife and approach her. Ready to let it sink into her chest and end it. Evie tried to move away as best she could, she wouldn't let them kill her like this. Not when she was this close! She was shaking, her body losing its energy as all her organs and every cell slowly froze. He kneeled beside her. Held up the knife.

''No!'' She held up her hand up to protect herself. The man went flying and the others were also thrown backwards. The ice started to swirl around in the mine, creating a snowstorm underground. The ones whose bones hadn't been broken by their fall, got up and hid behind cover. Evie was at the centre of the storm, trying to pick herself up from the ground. It was slow and painful, but she was standing on both her legs. Forever keeping the crystal close to her chest.

The Archmage stepped forward, strong and baring against the wind. ''Stop it! You have no idea what kind of power you're playing with!''

Oh, she knew. She knew perfectly well. She was finally strong, finally better. She wasn't his slave anymore. She wasn't anyone's property. It made her laugh. Her laugh echoed through the mountain, like the rock was laughing itself.

She was going to crush him, crush his skull like glass.

She held the crystal up. It cast a blinding white light across the room. The Archmage held up both his hands, green coloured magic growing around his fingertips. If this was how it was going to end, then so be it. A bolt of green lighting surged throw the mine, latching onto the crystal. It sung a song; a tune sharp as ice and cold as the coldest winter night.

The mountain collapsed and sunk into the ground. The only thing that was left was a humble pile of rocks in the barren snowy wastelands. The sky cleared and the sun once again shown down on Cold Mist Village.

* * *

There was a clear night sky above the icy plains. A girl with blue pigtails plodded weakly through the snow. She entered a small cave and sunk to the floor. She took heavy, shaking breaths and shivered. She was cold. So unbelievably cold.

Her tired eyes looked down at her hands. A blue light shown through her fingers. She brushed her thumb around the sharp edges of the crystal, removing some of the ice that grew back as soon as she'd gone over it. It was beautiful.

She was free.

Evie hugged the crystal and laughed.

* * *

 **Author's note;**

 **Here's my work of creating a background story for my favourite Paladins champion Evie the Winter Witch. I've loved her character ever since I started playing her and really wanted to give my girl a backstory. I hope you enjoyed ^^**

 **This story has been in progress for a long time. There was a point I had created a storyline I found fitting _just_ as Hi-Rez changed up her lore. So I began anew. Not wanting to waste everything I worked on I decided to keep some of my earlier work in this version of the story. For example the Archmage, who I came up with back when her old lore described she ended up ''defying her master.'' (this is from the Alpha lore) And also using the name; Ice Wraith Exerses.**

 **You may also have noticed the name Cold Mist Village (Which is a place from Hi-Rez's game: _Realm Royal_ (which used to use the Paladins characters when it was still very early in development))  
And the name _Mina._ Which used to be Evie's name back when she was still in concept.  
I thought to put these in as fun little refrences. Congrats to those who noticed them. ^^  
**

 **I really hope you enjoyed this story and I'm thinking of making more Paladins related stuff in the near future.**

 **Please Review and let me know what you think (Advice is very welcome :) )**

 **~Cherry Pie**


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